OBSERVED: Monday (Aug. 15, 2011) morning approximately 5:10am, I was traveling North towards Jacksonville, NC at 50 miles per hour. The road was straight for 3 miles, it has forest on one side and swamp land on the other side. Approximately 5/10ths of a mile South of Harris Road on Highway 53 a bipedal creature bolted in front of my cab less than 50 feet ahead of the cab's headlights. The creature was at a dead run and didn't look towards the cab. The creature was a crimson rusty brown in color with matted hair, very muscular, 6 1/2 to 7 feet tall and approximately 400lbs. The arm facing the cab headlights hung knee length or longer, had human hands and black fingernails. The creature took about 4 strides to cross the highway. It seemed to have no neck just a head; sort of like a caveman. Another vehicle was behind me and traveling very fast, but slowed way down when the creature appeared on the road. That car was approximately 1/10th of a mile behind my cab.

ALSO NOTICED: Around the same time frame I've had several occurances at my residence. There were 2 large Forest fires in the area. The first incident was in my garden. I have 2 massive garden areas, a mulch pile and compost piles. My mulch piles were ripped apart. The fish carcasses were gone and the melons had been bitten in half. All his vegetables in the garden were stomped down. I found 2 sets of foot prints; one was very large and its stride was approximately the size of a large man in full splits. The second set was smaller the size of a girls foot print. One week ago my dog; a rat terrier, started growling and its hair was bristled and would not come out of the closet. This happened once before. My dog has chased bears, but whatever was outside scared my dog. Last Wednesday (Aug. 10, 2011) my dog woke me up again growling and in the closet and at that point something bumped against the trailer and shook it. Also the next morning (Aug. 11, 2011) I noticed my 5gal. barrel had been moved from the front of the trailer to the backyard. It had water and shrimp hulls in it. It had been dumped out and the shrimp hulls were gone. Not just turned over, but like some one picked it up and turned it over. This Wednesday (Aug. 71, 2011) at approximately 2:30am I had gotten home from work and stepped out on his porch to smoke a cigarette and heard something howling for about 10 seconds; then stop and start up again. It went from low to high pitch howl. The sound came from the NW direction the same direction I saw the creature on Monday. One more thing; I have several deer, an opossum and raccoons that would visit my yard, but in the last 2 to 3 weeks all the animals have disappeared; especially the deer. No one around his area have seen any deer lately. No road kills; nothing.

OTHER WITNESSES: Don't know who they were, but a vehicle was traveling behind my cab at that time and they slowed down so they most likely saw this creature also.

OTHER STORIES: Yes, and there has been a report submitted. It was within a couple of days of this one in Burgaw, NC in Pender Co. approximately 12 miles southwest from my residence and sighting.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early morning. Hot and humid. Just about dawn. Still somewhat dark.

ENVIRONMENT: Forest and swamp land

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Don Tart:

I received a call from fellow investigator, Bill Evans, concerning multiple sightings in the Burgaw/Jacksonville area of Coastal North Carolina that had been brought to his attention when asked to return a phone call made by this witness to the BFRO. Bill spoke at length with this witness that was very shaken by the experience and helped him submit this report. I agreed to meet with witnesses, study the evidence and validate credibility. I was to meet this witness around 2PM on Sunday, Sept. 11.

This area of Coastal Carolina contains a vast expanse of longleaf pine forests and savannas nestled among the wetlands along the banks of the mighty Cape Fear River. You have Shelter Creek, which runs along Hwy 53 and is a tributary of the Cape Fear. It is a small winding creek and is mostly tidal which means it almost always has water whenever the rest of the rivers in the southeast part of the state are dry. East of Hwy 53 is the Holly Shelter Wildlife Preserve which totals over 10,000 acres and contains much old growth forest. The area has many endangered species and is heavily hunted in the fall. There is lots of deer, turkey, raccoon, and rabbit to support a habitat for the larger animals of this area including bear.

I arrived early and witness was running late. He described the location of the sighting and I agreed to meet him there later. I followed the witness’s directions to the location of the crossing and found it as he described. The highway was dotted with houses and farms along this route between Burgaw and Jacksonville. This particular section of road was void of and houses and businesses and was a perfect place for wildlife to cross. I found the clearing where the witness had described the creature emerging from the woods and proceeded back into the woods to look for sign and at the same time I kept a vigil eye for snakes, alligator, bear, or other predators that may lurking. The crossing area was made up of mostly a stand of small pines that were intermingled with the moist vegetation of the wetlands.

I found numerous game trails that were recently traveled and followed one trail that appeared to be made by something more sizable. Small brush was trampled down and found one good impression in the forest floor which appeared to be made by someone or something with a foot size of between 12-14". The impression had sank into the soil about 1/2-3/4" and definitely had some weight to it. The trail followed back to a swampy area where two small creeks merge.

The witness showed up and confirmed I was in the right location. We walked the site looking for any additional sign. I showed him the impression and advised the witness that someone taking a roadside break or possibly a Squatch could have made this. The track was inconclusive, but validates the witness's story.

I find the witness to be credible and have followed the numerous stories of Bigfoot crossing on this hwy over the years. The stories date back to the Fifties with the Creature known as “Ole Stinky” who frequented the swamps of Brunswick County just an hour southeast of this roadside crossing.

Last night around 8pm I received a phone call from this witness. He was hearing, at that time and up until 10pm, numerous vocalizations coming from all the cardinal directions, North, South, East and West from the swamp behind his home. The one from the North seemed to be a deep-throated howl and the others seemed to be less intimidating sounds. The sounds started at the opposite ends of the swamp and proceeded to move towards the center of the swamp. First one would call then another; like they were communicating with one another. For awhile it seemed as if they were moving towards the witness' home. Finally about 10pm it sounded like they were moving further away, but he could still hear them. By the account given by he and his wife, there were 100 or more calls given last night. Eric will be picking up an external mircrophone for his recorder today; so he can hopefully get a recording of the sounds he's been hearing.

It was mentioned in the witness' report of wildfires in the area. The wildfires is why they believe less wildlife has been seen in the area. Could the fires be the explanation for the recent, possible activity? Also, would like to clarify that the witness' home is about 5 miles from his sighting.

Bill Evans.

About BFRO Investigator Don Tart:

Don T. is an I&C/E Commissioning Engineer in Waynesboro, Ga. Don is an avid outdoorsman. He is a Life Scout, member of the Order of the Arrow and a Boy Scout Commissioner for Oconee County,SC. Don & his team scouted for "Finding Bigfoot" series for SC episode. He attended the 2006/2007/2008 NC Expeditions. He supported the pre-scouting activities for 2007 SC Expedition & 2007 Ga Expedition. He was a guide for the 2007 SC Expedition and the 2008 Florida expeditions.Don was the sponsor of the 2011 SC BFRO Expedition. Don is a founding member of SE BFRO Tracking Team.